Housing secretary James Brokenshire MP has proposed that first-time buyers should be allowed to dip into their pension pots to fund deposits for buying a home.
The MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup was offering “some personal ideas” to Conservative party leadership contenders on how to “empower consumers in the housing market”.
“We should be looking at allowing an individual to use part of their pension pot as a deposit on a first-time house purchase,” Brokenshire said.
“We should be changing the necessary regulations to allow this to happen – protecting the integrity of pension investments but allowing lenders to innovate and design new products to bring this opportunity to consumers,” he added.
The idea was met with dismay by opposition MPs.
Jo Platt, Labour MP for Leigh and shadow minister for the cabinet office, said: “One of the most idiotic policy ideas, even by Conservative standards.”
Brokenshire was addressing the centre-right think tank Policy Exchange on 3 June.
The UK already has the Help to Buy ISA, which will close to new openings on 30 November, and the Lifetime ISA, which both support people saving for their first property.
Article originally posted by Mortgage Solutions